When in Doubt
by Eternally Seventeen
Summary: War breaks out in the Potter residence when a very pregnant Lily is unable to find the bassinet she's bought for their impending baby, and it's James who bears the full brunt of her anger. -Oneshot-


Written for the QLFC Round 12, in place of our Chaser 1 whose mum is in the hospital - Clairey, I love you, may your mum get well soon!

Prompt: Write about your OTP having an argument (Claire and I have the same OTP - James/Lily, YAY!)

**Warning: **AU-ish (no war).

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**When in Doubt**

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"I haven't seen the crib; I swear to you Lily, what on earth would I do carrying around a baby's entire crib?"

"It's the _bassinet_, James! I need it to be able to carry the baby around once he's born, the crib is installed smack in the middle of the nursery that _you helped me paint _and hasn't gone anywhere since."

The Potter residence was being pulled apart by James and a very pregnant Lily, who was on a sudden and desperate search for the little bassinet they'd bought for the baby they were expecting.

James suddenly poked his head out from the attic, showering dust on to Lily who was unfortunately standing somewhat below him on the ground floor.

"Lily! There's nothing in the attic," he declared mournfully.

His wife sneezed violently in response.

"Must you really shower dust on me, especially when I am still carrying our _unborn child_?" Her voice rose dangerously and James groaned. "Aw, come on, Lils, a little sneeze won't hurt you, will it?" He swallowed his next words as he watched her emerald eyes narrow in anger.

"James Potter, there are so many things I'd like to tell you right now but I'll stick to two," she began.

"Do any of them involve good news?" James asked, though he didn't sound too hopeful.

Lily shook her head firmly.

"Right then, I'll be popping over to Sirius' for a while, he and I had some…"

"Stay right where you are, _love,"_ Lily warned, her eyes glinting dangerously. James froze in his tracks.

"To begin with, there's no chance for the bassinet to reach the attic. Nothing up there was made in this century!"

"Well, I thought I remembered placing it up there when I had gone to take some wood to make the mobile above the crib, so I was just, well, _being thorough_," he explained hastily.

Lily wasn't convinced. "You made the mobile a week ago, _love." _James nodded. "And?"

"_And_, the bassinet has been missing for the past three days. Not the entire week."

James was confused and decided to go with _attack _as his best form of defence. "Why are you looking for it _now_, Lil? You still have over two months to go before our baby is born. If all else fails, we can just buy another bassinet!"

The furious clenching of her fists met him know that he wasn't quite right in doing what he did.

"It's all very easy to say that we can look for it _later_, but in this house, later never comes! And as for buying another one," she paused here, very red in the face, "do you or do you not remember the significance of that little bassinet?" She hugged herself then, as though requiring consolation but James knew better than to comfort her when he happened to be the cause of her anger.

"Listen," he pleaded with her, well aware of the fact that he was fighting a losing battle. "Let's do something to take your mind off all this, okay? All this stress must most definitely not be good on you or the baby." His voice washed over her angry mind like cool beach waves on a tropical afternoon and Lily found herself calming down the slightest bit.

"We resume our hunt this evening," she relented finally, exhausted.

Her husband looked delighted.

"Brilliant. I'll run you a hot bath now so you can unwind in peace while I clear the kitchen up." He sounded desperate to get back on her good side – all this fighting was giving him a splitting headache.

But while Lily was tired, she wasn't all that easy to pacify.

"Don't mess my bath up, James. You know how warm I like my water to be, and use the lavender bath essence. The other one; vanilla, I presume – is a little too suffocating for my taste." She wrinkled her nose delicately and James couldn't help himself. He walked over to where she had plonked herself upon the sofa and placed a soft kiss on her nose.

"I love you, Lily, you know that right?" His wife's eyes softened a little.

"I love you too, James Potter, but sometimes you _really _drive me up the wall. Now go on, get my bath ready? We could go to Sirius' place after that, I wouldn't mind some change in scenery."

James' eyes lit up with the glow of a hundred dazzling Christmas trees. "I'm on it! Oh, I need to pack some stuff before we leave then, I had promised Sirius to show him the - "

"So you can remember that Sirius had asked you about those bike parts over a year ago, but you cannot remember what you did with the bassinet _merely three days ago?_" She nearly screamed the words out and James shook his head with despair. He really wasn't progressing anywhere tonight.

The doorbell clanged suddenly and Lily jumped, feeling a little ashamed at the possibility of a random outsider having heard her tirade.

"I'll get it." James scuttled across the living room, desperate for a distraction for his wife more than anything.

"I expected no less from you, _dear_," she said sarcastically as she rubbed circles across her swollen stomach. It felt especially sore today and Lily was pretty ready to have her baby sooner rather than later.

She heard excited shouts and happy greetings from the front door, and the deep yet cheery voice told her that it was Sirius. _Brilliant_, she thought. She wondered what she food she could serve him – he was perennially hungry and she had been too exhausted to cook up a meal.

"Lily!" Sirius bellowed, barging into the living room. James was nowhere to be seen, but as Lily hugged Sirius welcome, she heard a small thud and watched with wide eyes as James walked into the living room, holding on to the bassinet that had been the cause of much debate that morning.

"Before you yell at him, let me tell you that it's my fault," Sirius began hurriedly as he saw varied expressions dance across Lily's face.

She folded her arms before her and glared at him with all her might.

"Do explain, Sirius."

He cleared his throat nervously and looked to James for support, who only grinned widely in response as he walked towards his wife.

"Well, I was just leaving from here the other day, and…James, he…I mean…" His tongue failed to function, so trapped was it with all the nervousness that was generating in Sirius as he wilted under Lily's glare.

"I thought it was a basket, Lils!" He cried, embarrassed.

The only sound that could be heard was that of James guffawing merrily. Lily's mouth opened and closed with surprise as they failed to form words, and Sirius looked at her like a lost puppy caught in the headlights.

"I promise I won't take anything from the house without asking you first," he promised earnestly. "James told me how worried you were and I swear I didn't mean to upset you."

All Lily could do was to nod in response as she picked her precious bassinet off the floor.

"How on earth does this resemble an ordinary basket, Sirius?!"

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_ fin_


End file.
